


Mr. Mom

by xhookswenchx (ReluctantPrincess)



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Daddy!Killian, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-22
Updated: 2017-09-07
Packaged: 2018-12-05 13:47:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11579301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReluctantPrincess/pseuds/xhookswenchx
Summary: Just a quick little fic about Emma, Killian, and their little ones.When it comes time to return to work, Emma and Killian realize they haven't discussed child care plans.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much to ilovemesomekillianjones for doing the beta work!

They never really talked about it, though, they should have. It should have been in the discussion when they were only just thinking about having kids, could have been useful information while they were trying to get pregnant. Hell, the topic could have come up _while_ she was pregnant, and yet, it never did.

So when their leave hours were up, Killian and Emma were faced with a big question.  

How were they going to manage work?

He'd brought up the idea of alternating shifts, but Emma whined that they'd never see each other. Killian agreed that wasn't a good thing.

David was covering for the moment, but he wouldn't want to cover forever, and they needed income.

“We could hire a nanny,” Emma suggested, though not very enthusiastically. She seemed almost relieved when he shot down that plan.

“Do we need two incomes?” Killian asked. “We also have a stash of doubloons that can likely keep us going for quite some time. So… if we ever find ourselves in a bind…”

“So which one of us goes back?” she asked.

“We can draw straws.”

“Is that what you want to tell her?” Emma laughed. “That we basically gambled for her?”

“Neither one of us wants to leave her,” he said, “and neither one of us is the stay at home type.” He shrugged, then furrowed his brow in concentration. “How about… for the next two weeks, we alternate days? Whoever isn't working watches the wee one? At the end of the two weeks, we might have a better idea of who would rather work, and who would rather stay home?”

“That's fair,” Emma agreed.

* * *

**Three years later…**

 

“Has anyone seen the baby?” Killian asked, his voice filled with more exhaustion than actual terror. It was almost a daily thing now.

The more mobile Charlie got, the more adept he was at hiding.

Leia, their five year old, thought it was hilarious. She'd found her way into their home shortly after Hope had been born. A toddler at the time, Killian was certain he could handle two children. “She found us for a reason, Swan,” he'd argued, “and I'm good with the baby… a toddler can't be any more trouble than that…”

Leia had given him his first gray hair. Daredevil, that one. 

Hope was calmer than her sister. Just turned three, she wasn't the typical preschool child all the parenting books had warned him about. She was quiet, mild-tempered, and preferred sitting at the table drawing or reading to the rambunctious play of her siblings.

But quiet also meant sneaky, and stealing sweets was a common occurrence. Many nights were spent soothing her tummy aches with ginger ale and crackers.

Then there was Charlie. Their almost one year old who didn't like to sit still. If Leia had given him his first gray hair, Charlie had given him the rest. After another search that had proven worthless, he started to panic.

“Where is the baby?” he asked again.

They’d had their rough days before, but he’d always found Charlie before the boy was gone for too long.

“It wasn’t my turn to watch him,” Leia teased, mimicking Emma’s favorite phrase whenever someone misplaced something.

Killian groaned.

“Where did you put him last, daddy?” Hope asked. Not helpful, but slightly less sassy, so he decided to let it slide for the moment.

“Could you two help me find him?” he asked. “Please?”

His begging was only met with giggles. He sighed when he realized both girls weren’t even looking at him, they were looking over his shoulder.

“Missing something?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a little continuation of Killian's misadventures as Mr. Mom. 
> 
> As always, thank you to ilovemesomekillianjones!

“Ne-Ne!!!” Hope screeched at the top of her lungs.

_How he hadn't lost all his hearing…_

Killian stood, and turned to find Henry standing in the entryway, a very energetic Charlie in his arms.

“Dare I ask where?” Killian sighed as he took the boy from Henry.

“Sitting on the front porch,” Henry laughed.

Killian groaned. Of course his littlest one would be the bloody escape artist. “Thank you,” he said. “You’re a lifesaver.” Emma would destroy him had he actually lost the baby.

“I’m beginning to wonder if I made a mistake in agreeing to babysit tonight,” Henry said. “You don’t _really_ want to go out, do you?”

“Your mother and I have not been on a date since…” he frowned as he tried to remember when he and Emma had actually had a little time to themselves.

“Since before Charlie,” Hope supplied, “that’s what momma said yesterday.”

“I’m sure she was exaggerating, darling,” Killian chuckled.

Hope raised an eyebrow, and Henry barked out a laugh. “Mom’s right, that one’s all yours.” He laughed even harder when Hope gave him an even more confused look.

When she realized her brother was not going to stop laughing, she scowled. Hope may have looked like her mother’s little twin, but Henry was right. Her expressions were all Killian.

“All right,” Killian sighed. He took Charlie from Henry, who didn’t seem all to happy about his return to captivity. “Hope, quit sulking. Henry, apologize for pestering your sister.”

“You’re not the boss of me,” Henry stated. “I’m an adult, remember? Besides, I didn’t _do_ anything wrong.”

“Correct on all accounts,” Killian nodded, “but you’re the one babysitting, and you and I both know how Hope acts when she’s put out.”

“Drama queeeeen,” Leia teased, making Hope even more agitated. Killian made her apologize right away for that one.

Henry caved and apologized too. Hope didn’t seem to want to hear it until she got roped into a big brother hug. Suddenly, little giggles and screeches rang through the house. The second she was on her feet, she took off, Leia quickly following behind her. Henry chased after them both, making ridiculous monster noises.

Charlie gave Killian the most pathetic pout. “Not you, young man,” he mock scolded. “I’ll be damned if your mother comes home to find-”

“To find what?”

“Momma! Momma! Momma!” Charlie squealed.

“I didn’t hear you come in, love.” Killian greeted his wife with a kiss as she took the squirmy baby from him. “Of course,” he scrunched his nose when another shriek rang through the house, “hard to hear anything around here, isn’t it?”

“Sound’s like Henry’s winding them up,” she laughed.

“I think that means it’s the perfect opportunity for us to get changed, and sneak out,” Killian decided.

Emma kissed Charlie’s chubby little cheek and smiled. But it was closer to a sad smile than a happy one.

“Sweetheart?”

“I finally have my whole family under one roof,” she said, “can we just stay home tonight?”

Killian nodded, and followed her up the stairs and into their room. He wasn’t sure what was upsetting her. “Would you like to talk about it?” he asked as they sat down on the bed. She responded with a shake of her head and a few shed tears. He hated it when he couldn’t make her feel better.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here it is! My last little bit! Of course, there's always my little chats and snippets on tumblr to follow. I really do enjoy this little universe. Thanks to ilovemesomekillianjones for giving it a run through!

Playing with Charlie seemed to put Emma in better spirits, so, he gave them both some space. “I’ll go order a pizza.”

“I’d like that,” she said, giving him a quick kiss. “Don’t forget the bacon, okay? And for the love of god, no pineapple.”

“Anything for you, my love,” Killian stood, and made an exaggerated bow. He couldn’t help but feel better when she burst out into genuine, happy laughter. 

“We’ll talk later,” she promised. 

Later turned out to be when they were all cramped on the couch, watching Netflix. The kids had all piled onto Henry’s lap, as they always did whenever he came for a visit. The four had fallen asleep shortly after the movie began, and Emma had crashed not long after them.

“Emma?” he whispered softly. He hated waking her, but the movie was just about over, and soon, they’d need to transport their children to bed -without waking them. It was a challenge they often found themselves failing at.

“Hmm?” she blinked a few times before opening her eyes and looking up at him. 

“You’re drooling on me,” he teased.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, giving him that sleepy smile he loved so much. 

“Movie’s almost over,” he told her, then nodded towards Henry and the little ones. 

“They’re so cute,” she said, “maybe we can just throw a blanket over them and call it a night?” 

It wouldn’t be the first time. After Henry went off to college, it took quite some time to console his younger siblings. The young man was their hero. So, it only made sense that they monopolized his time when he came to visit. He never seemed to mind, and often, it was a nice break for Killian and Emma. 

“I miss him too,” Killian said, as he began to understand what was bothering his wife. The current semester had been a busy one, and Henry’s visits didn’t happen quite as often. “Perhaps you shouldn’t have taught him how to do his own laundry, hm?”

“A mistake I won’t make with the other four,” she commented with a yawn.

He chuckled, and kissed her forehead. “Why don’t we… wait… did you say other  _ four _ ?” He could see her trying to gauge his reaction. The last thing he wanted to do was upset her, but he was in a slight state of shock. 

They’d  _ talked  _ about adding on to their brood, even tried for a few months. When nothing happened…

“Whale said-”

“Whale was wrong,” she gave him a weak smile, as though she expected him to react poorly at this point. “Surprise?” she added.

“Surprise indeed.” He couldn’t help but smile. “Is that why you were so upset earlier?”

“Whale said more babies were out of the question,” she shrugged, “so I just kind of went with it, you know? I lost all that baby weight, and started celebrating the fact that my boobs were almost mine again-”

“I celebrated that too, love,” he teased.

“Very funny,” she rolled her eyes. “I’m just saying… I wasn’t ready for this. Which is weird, because when we were trying I  _ was  _ ready, and now… I’m not.”

“So, you’re unhappy?” 

“I know it looks that way,” she said. “With all the complaining, and the tears… but I’m really not. Not ready, but not unhappy either.” She returned his grin. “I’m actually… excited…”

_ That  _ was a relief. “I’m excited too.” 

 


End file.
